Here's a protocol I'm considering for my game to address magic item creation. The party is 6th level and magic item creation is coming up. Feedback sought.
Creating Magic Items
A single version of Common and Uncommon items are generally available according to Xanathars.
Multiple copies of items already in the group, rare and very rare items will need to be crafted (if not found during the course of an adventure). Xanathar's also descibes the steps for crafting items.You can also use the crafting items rules if you want to imbue your own weapon (instead of getting a new one) with magic.
To find the "recipe" for an item you can do "research" according to Xanatathar's. You can also hire someone to do the research for you at twice the cost.
Common Item: You need one piece of lore.
Uncommon Item: You need two pieces of lore.
Rare+: You need at least three pieces of lore.
Reducing Time Requirement
When completing a magic item, the character’s tool proficiency or proficiency in a skill roll may reduce the time required.
DC 15 reduces time by ¼.
DC 20 reduces it by half
Additional money may be spent to reduce the time requirement.
My party have an Artificer Tinkerer, he is warforged and spent 10 years working in a dwarven forge. So he has a list of magical and non magical items he wants to create, I use the same approach for both things. The rules for magic item and mundane item invention and creation is all a little weak for me so I home brew the following
Out of session player talks to me about what they want to invent/create/build, the way it will behave and the benefits it might confer. We discuss if it is logical, realistic or game breaking. E.G he had an idea for a shield he could wield while using his heavy crossbow. We agreed after some back and forth about ways and options that realistically it would be more like a large shield he stood behind and rested the crossbow on as opposed to having the crossbow built into it, so he decided it wouldn't really be viable.
If it is a magic item that exists, or is very similar to one that exists, then I will work out the price (I use the Sane price guide and then tweak off of that price usually brining the price down), and from that work out the time it will take. We will then discuss components/spells etc that need to be gathered to work into the item.
But this is all done on an item by item basis.
When it comes to actually making the thing then I will get the player to make a series of skill rolls, the quality of the items being used to make it, the quality of the workspace being used, the time taken all feed into the DC I set. Failures will use up components faster, or make future skill checks harder. The player can spend as long as they want creating this item, it might be 2 hours every day before a long rest, or they may spend weeks of downtime focusing on it. Money can't be used to speed up the process directly, but the character might spend money to pay for an assistant to help, this can speed up the time if time is spent up skilling the assistant, or based on the quality of any plans the character has created.
This means that the whole process of making items is very much a item by item finger in the air thing by me, which is why I insist my players discuss it with me between sessions.
Magic item creation has always been a fairly iffy thin. You as the DM are going to be heavily involved in toning down the player’side as and plans and making it more difficult not easier ( the player will be trying to make it super easy so they get the item yesterday) . Doing it yourself should always call for lots of down time, while hiring someone else to do it for you should be expensive. This is a large part of why mages (and others) stop adventuring (at least for the time to do it themselves). Ask the player if they want to retire the character for a while and bring in a new Character while the first is creating their item. Or fit some of the things they need ( formulas, materials, etc) into the campaign so they can put stuff together at the end.
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Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
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Here's a protocol I'm considering for my game to address magic item creation. The party is 6th level and magic item creation is coming up. Feedback sought.
A single version of Common and Uncommon items are generally available according to Xanathars.
Multiple copies of items already in the group, rare and very rare items will need to be crafted (if not found during the course of an adventure). Xanathar's also descibes the steps for crafting items.You can also use the crafting items rules if you want to imbue your own weapon (instead of getting a new one) with magic.
To find the "recipe" for an item you can do "research" according to Xanatathar's. You can also hire someone to do the research for you at twice the cost.
Common Item: You need one piece of lore.
Uncommon Item: You need two pieces of lore.
Rare+: You need at least three pieces of lore.
Reducing Time Requirement
When completing a magic item, the character’s tool proficiency or proficiency in a skill roll may reduce the time required.
DC 15 reduces time by ¼.
DC 20 reduces it by half
Additional money may be spent to reduce the time requirement.
Double the cost reduces the time by ¼
Triple the cost to reduce it by ½.
These reductions do “stack”.
-TNVic
@TNVic@dice.camp
My party have an Artificer Tinkerer, he is warforged and spent 10 years working in a dwarven forge. So he has a list of magical and non magical items he wants to create, I use the same approach for both things. The rules for magic item and mundane item invention and creation is all a little weak for me so I home brew the following
Out of session player talks to me about what they want to invent/create/build, the way it will behave and the benefits it might confer. We discuss if it is logical, realistic or game breaking. E.G he had an idea for a shield he could wield while using his heavy crossbow. We agreed after some back and forth about ways and options that realistically it would be more like a large shield he stood behind and rested the crossbow on as opposed to having the crossbow built into it, so he decided it wouldn't really be viable.
If it is a magic item that exists, or is very similar to one that exists, then I will work out the price (I use the Sane price guide and then tweak off of that price usually brining the price down), and from that work out the time it will take. We will then discuss components/spells etc that need to be gathered to work into the item.
But this is all done on an item by item basis.
When it comes to actually making the thing then I will get the player to make a series of skill rolls, the quality of the items being used to make it, the quality of the workspace being used, the time taken all feed into the DC I set. Failures will use up components faster, or make future skill checks harder. The player can spend as long as they want creating this item, it might be 2 hours every day before a long rest, or they may spend weeks of downtime focusing on it. Money can't be used to speed up the process directly, but the character might spend money to pay for an assistant to help, this can speed up the time if time is spent up skilling the assistant, or based on the quality of any plans the character has created.
This means that the whole process of making items is very much a item by item finger in the air thing by me, which is why I insist my players discuss it with me between sessions.
Magic item creation has always been a fairly iffy thin. You as the DM are going to be heavily involved in toning down the player’side as and plans and making it more difficult not easier ( the player will be trying to make it super easy so they get the item yesterday) . Doing it yourself should always call for lots of down time, while hiring someone else to do it for you should be expensive. This is a large part of why mages (and others) stop adventuring (at least for the time to do it themselves). Ask the player if they want to retire the character for a while and bring in a new Character while the first is creating their item. Or fit some of the things they need ( formulas, materials, etc) into the campaign so they can put stuff together at the end.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.